In recent years it has become popular to cover the unused license plate support structure on a motor vehicle with various decorative plates or panels. Such panels often display the names of sports team, the name of the owner of the vehicle, or in some cases advertisements. Generally, these display panels are unilluminated and are not readily viewable at night, and whereas there have been some illuminated display devices devised, they generally are not designed for direct mounting on the license plate support structure. Certain of these devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,625,798; 1,737,858; 1,734,575; 1,720,531; 2,045,863; 2,108,591; 2,122,027; 2,124,829; 2,156,753; 2,156,806; 2,171,820; 2,203,785; 2,305,372; 2,305,750; 2,618,089; 2,875,539; 3,335,269; 3,521,391; 3,921,324; 4,214,683; 4,443,832; 4,475,298; and 4,557,517.
Therefore, it is an object of this present invention to provide an illuminated display device for a motor vehicle for mounting on the license plate support structure of such vehicle in lieu of a license plate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an illuminated display device which includes license plate support means for engaging and supporting a license plate.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an illuminated display device which includes display panels which are keyed for use only with a specific display device housing.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an illuminated display device which is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.